Narrative:

I was informed by our regional maintenance manager that a leather pouch used to contain small weights and balance computer; a small aluminum radio holder and an aluminum tray were installed in a company aircraft without the proper documentation. These items were used to contain loose articles in the cockpit and were secured by velcro and plastic and existing metal fasteners. No modification to the airframe was made. These were secured to the plastic interior pieces of the cabin. The tray also covered a placard. I am a pilot and was not aware that I needed proper paperwork for these items. I was assuming that these were considered convenience items much like a cup holder or a GPS yoke mount. The company that this took place in is a part 135 EMS operator. I am reporting this because I was told that this company is filing a self-disclosure report and therefore I am doing the same. I was not aware that I was doing anything wrong and in fact I thought I was doing a good thing by securing loose articles in the cockpit. I am very upset that I did this unknowingly because I have a spot free record with the FAA and intend to stay that way. The problem arose when we needed to secure loose articles in the cockpit. Contributing factors were the facts that similar items were previously installed in this same aircraft. My supervisor encouraged me to do this. I was never told by our local aircraft mechanics that this was not an authorized thing to do. It solved our problems. It was discovered by an inspection of the aircraft by company mechanic's supervisor. Corrective actions were that these items were removed and the aircraft was restored to its original condition. To prevent this in the future I feel that more training by the company should be mandatory.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: Helicopter pilot reported installing a leather pouch in helicopter to store electronic devices. A Maintenance Supervisor informed the reporter that this cannot be done without proper paper work.

Narrative: I was informed by our Regional Maintenance Manager that a leather pouch used to contain small weights and balance computer; a small aluminum radio holder and an aluminum tray were installed in a company aircraft without the proper documentation. These items were used to contain loose articles in the cockpit and were secured by Velcro and plastic and existing metal fasteners. No modification to the airframe was made. These were secured to the plastic interior pieces of the cabin. The tray also covered a placard. I am a pilot and was not aware that I needed proper paperwork for these items. I was assuming that these were considered convenience items much like a cup holder or a GPS yoke mount. The company that this took place in is a Part 135 EMS operator. I am reporting this because I was told that this company is filing a self-disclosure report and therefore I am doing the same. I was not aware that I was doing anything wrong and in fact I thought I was doing a good thing by securing loose articles in the cockpit. I am very upset that I did this unknowingly because I have a spot free record with the FAA and intend to stay that way. The problem arose when we needed to secure loose articles in the cockpit. Contributing factors were the facts that similar items were previously installed in this same aircraft. My supervisor encouraged me to do this. I was never told by our local aircraft mechanics that this was not an authorized thing to do. It solved our problems. It was discovered by an inspection of the aircraft by company mechanic's Supervisor. Corrective actions were that these items were removed and the aircraft was restored to its original condition. To prevent this in the future I feel that more training by the company should be mandatory.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.